This invention relates to a grated floor conveyor arrangement for keeping and removing small animals, particularly fattened poultry such as chickens, from a housing enclosure.
While egg laying hens are mostly housed in stationary batteries of cages, in poultry breeding it is common to keep the animals in large area enclosures on an open, grate-like floor. This floor is often arranged at a distance over the fixed floor or bed of the enclosure. The grate-like floor openings enable excrements and other impurities to fall through onto the fixed floor of the enclosure, where they may be easily removed.
A problem with this flooring arrangement is removing the poultry from the enclosure after fattening. During the growth or fattening phase the animals are largely inactive, and are especially reluctant to leave the enclosure under their own power.